1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to horse training devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to a combination surcingle and weighted training device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Horses have been used for thousands of years to carry people and articles. Horses typically need to be trained in order to carry weight upon the horse""s back. Several different types of training devices have been devised in the past for introducing weight to a horse so that the horse can become accustom to carrying weight upon the horse""s back. A few of these devices are disclosed here.
U.S. Pat. No. 530,864 issued to Torrey discloses a weighted saddle blanket having a plurality of weighted strips disposed through out the blanket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,213 issued to Petronio discloses a blanket-type member supports weights in either a fixed or variable relation and is disposed on the back of an animal for training and conditioning purposes. The blanket-type member has a cushioned undersurface for the comfort of the animal and is disposed on the animal""s back over an undercover to prevent chafing and the like as the animal moves about with the blanket-type member on its back.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,053 issued to Records discloses a pack saddle designed to simulate the weight and feel of an actual rider for testing an animal""s propensity to buck. While the animal""s movement is restricted, the simulated rider pack saddle is placed over the back of the animal and cinched in place with a strap that is remotely releasable. After attaching the apparatus, the animal is released and observed to determine its natural propensity to buck.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,468,811 issued to Carroll discloses a surcingle having structure for carrying weight, in addition to that of a jockey, in the form of lead weights. The lead weights are placed within interspaced pouches along the length of the surcingle.
Each of these prior art references discloses or teaches using weight upon a horse or similar animal to make them accustom to carrying people or articles upon the animal""s back. However, there is still a remaining need for a weighted training device that more closely simulates the weight distribution of a person riding a horse or like animal while simultaneously providing means for attaching a training line or rein to the device for behavioral training.
It is also common practice to train horses so that they move in a certain manner. There have been several different types of training devices developed for training the movement of a horse using training lines and or reins. An example of this is U.S. Pat. No. 77,234 issued to York that discloses a surcingle used to train the movement of the horse""s feet as the horse moves. However, if an animal trainer using the surcingle desired to simultaneously train the movement of the horse or like animal while making the horse accustom to weight upon the back of the animal, the animal trainer would have to use a second device such as the weight training device previously disclosed.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a weighted training device that more closely simulates the weight distribution of a person riding a horse or like animal while simultaneously providing means for attaching a training line or rein to the device for controlling the movement of the horse.
To fulfill the need still present in the prior art, the claimed invention provides a combination surcingle and weighted training device that more closely simulates the weight distribution of a person riding a horse or like animal being trained while simultaneously providing means for attaching training lines or reins to the device to train movement of the horse.
The weighted training surcingle device generally comprises a belt, a pair of pads, a first and second set of weight pouches, and a plurality of D shaped receiving rings.
The belt is side sized and shaped to simulate the spatial area of the legs and buttocks of a person straddling the back of a horse or like animal. The belt has a midpoint for positioning adjacent the spine of a horse that divides the belt into a first half for positioning adjacent a first rib cage portion of the horse and a second half for positioning adjacent an opposite rib cage portion of the horse.
The pair of pads on the bottom side of the belt and adjacent the midpoint of the belt act to distribute weight away from the spine of the horse when weight is placed in the pouches of the device helping to protect the spine of the horse.
The weight pouches attached to the top side of the belt provide means for holding weight adjacent the rib cage of the horse. Using two pouches on either side of the midpoint to provide means for holding weight allows the weight to be more evenly vertically distributed and helps to more realistically simulate the weight distribution of a person when a person sits upon the horse.
The receiving rings are spaced about the device to provide a user of the device numerous point of attachment for training lines so that many different types of training routines can be performed.
The centrally located weight pouch attached to the top side of the belt and spanning the midpoint of the belt provides means for holding weight adjacent the spine of the horse.